Razor



Sept. 3, 1946. J. w. ANDERSON RAZOR Filed April 19, 1945 INVENTOR. da/mW. Anderson Patented Sept. 3, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT "OFFICE.

V RAZOR John w. Anderson; Gary, Ina; Application April 19, 1945, Serialno. 589,213

This invention relates to razors and in particular to a safety razor ofthe type wherein the handle assembly is constructed to permit the bladecarrying head of the razor to rotate or' revolve around the axis of thehandle and thereby automatically equalize throughout the length of thecutting edge of the head its pressure against the area to be shaved.

As has been pointed out in my prior applications, Serial NO. 543,067,filed July 1, 1944, and- Serial No. 547,404, filed July 3 1, 1944, withthis type of razor it has been difiicult to maintain be tween the stemand the handle the exact degree of friction which would prevent therazor head 8 Glaims. (CI. 30-85) cutting head and the handle can beeasily and conveniently controlled and even prevented, as occasionrequires, by the operator.

The invention contemplates a razor having a handle of theabove-specified type which is simple in structure, efficient inoperation, and easily manipulated by the operator of the razor. 7

It is also an object of this invention to produce a razor handle of theabove type" which can be readily assembled and easily disassembled forpurposes of cleaning or otherwise.

It is also an object of the invention to produce a handle of the abovetype wherein the braking action can be effected in a plurality of waysso that the handle lends itself to varyingv manual characteristics ofdifferent shavers.

A further object of the invention is that of producing a razor handle ofthe above type which is easily assembled to,- and disassembled from, the

cutting head and. which isarranged so that the lather and shorn whiskerswill not get into the working. parts of the handle.-

Fig. 1 is an elevation showing my handle.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through my" Referring to the drawing, ihave shown for illustrative purposes a Gillette type razor wherein thehead comprises a clamping plate I, a guard plate 2,- and athreaded stud3 fixed centrally to the clamping face of the clamp. The blade finotshowniis clamped between the clamp l' and the guard 2 and the head-issecured to the handle by means of the screw threaded stiid '3.

My handle comprises the; following elements: head 4 in the forth (if anintern l 'y threaded filit having' a manned eiieumf'ereiiti flanges,shaft 6, handle sections'lgwasher 8; and ferrule 9 Handle sections i arepreferably identical one with the other and are assembled loosely (notjoined together) aroundsliaft- 6. Handle sections 1 fit into; and arenew in position at ne" end by, arces's ill in nut I arid are heldtogether at the other endb rerruie g which fits ever the reduded ends" Hor sections 1. Head 12 of shaft 5 retains" ferrule 9 iii position overthe ends" of sections 1; Washer 8 of any desired (5616)? can be used fordecorative stresses and, as shown, is' assembled over the reduced endsof sections 1 between shoulder l3 and ferrule 8. Washer 8 also holds"s'eetionstoga 'ei. Kiln-fled flange 5 on nut 4 acts a meter guard: andadds to the cfiIi-vnie'iiee of Holding" the sigma when screwing shaft 6fi-o'ih E" aI-"Iidunscrewing nut 4- irom the threaded stud 3 of therazor head I, 2. Shaft" G is to move under Slight ma tidIi Oftlie handleasfi1blyifi ridrinal Handle sections l have a-sl'op'p'y fit with respecttoshaft a and also have a siopoy at one endinrecess H) in nut- 4 and atthe other end have a sloppy fit ferruie- 9-. The handle sections 1 actas a brake to retard or entirely prevent relative movement betweenhandle sections 1 and shaft 6 whenever extra pressure of the: hand is"applied at any point between a and range 5. By

any point and against any one or moreo'f sections and shaft 6 can bespired an where along any one or more of sections 1-.

The handle can be ifry disassembled for cleaning liy unscrewing startsoutsmut-When 3 permits handle sections 1 to be withdrawn from washer 8and ferrule 9.

The entire handle assembly can be easily disassembled from the shavinghead I, 2 by unscrewing nut 4 from threaded stud 3. The knurled flange 5on nut 4 greatly facilitates this operation because flange 5 gives alever advantage, due to its greater diameter, in screwing nut 4 on stud3 as compared with the small diameter of the nut 4 which is theconventional diameter of this nut in the conventional Gillette head.

The knurled flange of the nut 4 serves to prevent accumulating latherfrom moving down on to the handle and on to the fingers of the operatorand thus retards lather and detached whiskers from getting into theslots of the handle. This flange also enables .the operator of averagestrength to readily hold nut"4 against rotation while the shaft 6 isbeing unscrewed from the nut or screwed back into the nut. Shaft 6 mustbe shouldered tightly against the nut so that it-will not turn under thebraking effect of the handle when the razor is in use.

The flange preferably is of small enough diameter that it will notcontact a flat surface before that surface is contacted by the outer endofthe handle and by a side of the razor head adjacent a cutting edge ofthe blade. It will be noted that at l4 the diameter of the handleassembly is increased to facilitate the prevention of contact of afinger or thumb of the operator with the flange of nut 4 when it isdesired that shaft 6 turn freely in the handle with a minimum of brakingeffect.

If desired the finger or thumb of the operator may be projected slightlyto touch the face or ing in the ferrule 9 and recess 10. In action thehandle 1 will be gripped by the Person shaving and two or more ofsections 1 will have friction contact with shaft 6. It is understood, ofcourse, that the handle is shown made from three sections 1 fordescriptive purposes only. Actually the handle can be made from two,three, or more sections, such as illustrated by sections 1.

Due to the sloppy fit of handle 1 on shaft 6 the handlewill operateeffectively -in the manner above described in spite of dirtaccumulations between the handle and the shaft which would otherwiseclog the handle if the fit were closer. The sloppy fit of the handle onthe shaft also permits the handle to be more easily cleaned by immersingin a stream of water.

I claim:

1. In a safety razor of the type having a blade carrying head, thecombination of rigid means adapted to be secured to said head, and ahandle rotatably mounted on said rigid means, said handle comprising aplurality of sections positioned circumferentially of the rigid meansand having a loose fit thereupon whereby said h'andle responds variouslyto varying manual pressures applied anywhere throughout the length ofsaid sections to retard relative rotation between the handle and rigidmeans.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said rigid means is ashaft and the the knurled periphery of the flange as a means 7 ofpreventing, or of aiding in preventing, the turning of the shaft 6, nut4 and the head I, 2, in unison with relation to the handle and the handof the operator. This manipulation may be used instead of compressingthe handle against shaft 6 for braking effect, or may be used tosupplement that braking effect. The size of the operators hand withrelation to the size of the handle and manual habits of the operatoracquiredin other activities determines which manipulation for brakingefiect is most convenient for him. 7

It will be noted that pressing a thumb or a finger against the outerface of the flange of nut 4- tends to project the outer ends of thelongitudinal sections of the handle against the inner face of theslotted head of the shaft 6, thus providing additional braking effect.

It is found that most operators rely entirely upon braking effectobtained by increasing'the pressure of the hand against the handle anddo not rely at all upon the flange for braking effect.

If desired, the flange may be made large enough with relation to thehandle and the head so that when at rest on a flat surface only theouter end of the handle and the flange will contact a flat surface, thusholding the razor head and theedge of the blade away from fiat surfaceand any moisture thereon which might ac.-

handle sections are substantially identical.

3. In a safety razor of the type having a blade carrying head, thecombination of rigid means adapted to be secured to said head, and ahandle rotatably mounted on said rigid means, said handle comprising a.plurality of sections positioned circumferentially of the rigid means,and retainer means secured to said rigid means for retaining said handlesections loosely on said rigid means, said retainer means and handlesections having cooperating male and female portions which looselyinterengage so that the handle sections are retained loosely on saidrigid means whereby said handle responds variously to varying manualpressures applied to said sections celerate oxidation of the cuttingedge of the blade.

It will be noted, particularly by referring to Figs. 3 ands, thatsections l have a loose or sloppy fit on shaft 6 so that a smallclearance I5 occurs between the innersurface of sections 1 and the outerperiphery of shaft 5 when the sections are drawn outwardly against theopento retard relative rotation between the handle and rigid means.

4. In a safety razor of the type having a. blade carrying head, thecombination of a shaft adapted to be secured to said head, and a handlerotatably mounted on said shaft, said handle comprising a plurality ofsections positioned circumferentially of the shaft, and retainer meanssecured to said shaft for retaining said handle sections loosely on saidshaft, said retainer means and handle sections having cooperating maleand female portions which loosely interengage so that the handlesections are retained loosely on said shaft whereby said handle respondsvariously to varying manual pressures applied to said sections to retardrelative rotation between the handle and shaft.

5. A handle assembly for a safety razor comprising a shaft, a handlerotatably mounted on said shaft and comprising a plurality oflongitudinal sections, recessed members adapted to fit over the oppositeends of said sections with a loose fit for retaining the handle sectionsloose- 1y together upon said shaft whereby the handle responds to manualpressure to effect a braking action with said shaft. 6. The combinationas set forth in claim 5 wherein one of said recessed members is in theform of a nut adapted to be screwed on to a blade carrying head.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein one of said recessedmembers is adapted to be secured to a blade carrying head and isprovided with an enlarged circumferential flange extending in a planetransversely of the shaft whereby said flange serves as a lather guardand assists in connecting said recessed member to the blade carryinghead.

8. In a safety razor of the type having a blade carrying head, thecombination of a shaft, a handle comprising a plurality of longitudinalsections rotatably mounted on said shaft, a ring positioned over one endof said handle for loosely retaining the handle sections together, anenlarged end portion on said shaft for retaining said ring in positionover the end of said handle sections, an enlarged recessed membersecured to the other end of said shaft and arranged to receive the otherend of said handle for loosely retaining the handle sections on saidhandle whereby the handle sections respond to pressure to effect abraking action between the handle and the said shaft to retard relativerotation therebetween.

JOHN W. ANDERSON.

